France is a Republic, and there’s no current royal family recognized by the French state. Still, there are thousands of French citizens who have titles and can trace their lineage back to the French Royal Family and nobility.

King Louis XIV supported the arts by sponsoring musical entertainment and plays. A new form of dance, ballet, became popular in the French court. Painting, music, decorative arts, and architecture in the French styles soon became the model of all of Europe.

In 1789, food shortages and economic crises led to the outbreak of the French Revolution. King Louis and his queen, Mary-Antoinette, were imprisoned in August 1792, and in September the monarchy was abolished. Marie-Antoinette followed him to the guillotine nine months later.

Over approximately 300 000 nobles, 18 000-19 000 were killed which is around 6% of the whole noble population, which isn’t a lot compared to the rest of the other social classes (most nobles fled to Switzerland or hid during the massacres).

Today, the death penalty has been abolished in France.

Did you know? Over 17,000 people were officially tried and executed during the Reign of Terror, and an unknown number of others died in prison or without trial.

Under this system, at least 40,000 people were killed. As many as 300,000 Frenchmen and women (1 in 50 Frenchmen and women) were arrested during a ten month period between September 1793 and July 1794. Included in these numbers were, of course, the deaths of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.

Peasants were unhappy with the depletion of royal coffers, two decades of poor harvests, drought, cattle disease and skyrocketing bread prices. Peasants had heavy taxes imposed on them while the Catholic Church got off scot-free. They expressed this resentment through riots, loots and strikes.

The result of the French Revolution was the end of the monarchy. King Louis XVI was executed in 1793. The revolution ended when Napoleon Bonaparte took power in November 1799. In 1804, he became Emperor.

The Major Events in the French Revolution

• The First invasion of the Tuileries (June 20, 1792)
• Overthrow of the monarchy (August 10, 1792)
• Execution of the King (January 21, 1793)
• Reign of Terror (September 5 1793- July 28 1794)
• Execution of the Queen (October 16, 1793)
• Execution of Robespierre (July 27 1794)

French Revolution and Napoleon

The Revolution led to the establishment of a democratic government for the first time in Europe. Feudalism as an institution was buried by the Revolution, and the Church and the clergy were brought under State control. It led to the eventual rise of Napoleon Bonaparte as the Emperor of France

Turning Point French Revolution It is a turning point because there was a republic in a large European country for the first time since the Roman Republic. The World changed after the French revolution because a people who had been ruled by a monarchy for many generations.

the French Revolution